A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates generally to electronic organizers and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods providing integration of electronic organizers with cellular phone devices.
With each passing day, there is ever increasing interest in providing integrated solutions for connected information appliances. Here, the general environment includes xe2x80x9cappliancesxe2x80x9d in the form of electronic devices such as cellular phones, pagers, and battery-powered, hand-held devices (e.g., REX(trademark), Palm Pilot(trademark) and Windows(trademark) CE devices). Such a device, in typical use, is occasionally connected to a desktop personal computer or PC, which stores information for a user. Still further, the PC may be connected to a server computer, which stores information important to the user""s business. What the user wants is an integrated solution such that information of each device remains available for use in other devices in a convenient, transparent manner.
The user""s wish for integration of personal information among devices is particularly noteworthy in connection with cellular phones, given their tremendous popularity. Although cellular phones are commonplace, a cellular phone user today finds that his or her device is not well integrated with other electronic devices. Consider, for instance, a user who maintains address-book or xe2x80x9ccontactsxe2x80x9d information on a hand-held device. Despite having maintained extensive information about his or her contacts electronically, the user is forced to manually re-enter information into the cellular phone when placing a phone call. What the user wants instead is the ability to make calls and look up addresses and phone numbers, and even check schedules and send electronic mail, from a single integrated solution. Yet to date, designers have struggled over how to integrate disparate informationxe2x80x94such as calendaring, scheduling, and contact informationxe2x80x94among disparate devices.
What is needed is a solution which combines telephony with personal information management in a single integrated hand-held unit. Given the millions of cellular phones in service today, such a solution should comprise a user-serviceable attachment allowing a legacy phone to be upgraded to a xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d phone without requiring a change to the underlying phone equipment (i.e., in a manner which maintains compatibility with legacy hardware) and without requiring a complicated installation procedure.
More particularly, what is needed is such an integrated solution that can enable a user to conveniently access information in the user-serviceable attachment even during an existing phone call and even on a phone (e.g., a legacy phone) that has xe2x80x9cautomatic hang-upxe2x80x9d logic which causes the phone to unilaterally terminate an ongoing call if the logic believes that the phone is no longer being used. What is also needed is an integrated solution that is little encumbered during use or transport by model-specific restrictions imposed by particular phone model(s) and that can easily be used with multiple models of phones. In short, a solution is needed that can accommodate and work with as many models of phones as possible. Similarly, a solution is needed that can accommodate as many users as possible. For example, what is needed is a solution that is equally convenient for left-handed as well as right-handed users to use. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.
The present invention provides a Companion Digital Organizer (CDO) or system, that is designed to interface with a cellular phone to thereby provide integrated organizer/telephone functionality. The CDO is preferably configured to interface with the phone through an existing interface port (e.g., StarTac(trademark) cellular port) in the phone. The CDO is preferably implemented as an add-on component which can be easily attached and detached from a phone by a customer and, once in place, can dramatically enhance the phone functionality, converting the phone into a xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d phone. In the preferred embodiment, the CDO is configured to attach to a cellular phone in the same manner as an auxiliary battery.
In an embodiment, the present invention includes a portable electronic organizer for independent operation and for operation with a portable telephone. The organizer includes a portable docking unit, a portable main unit, and logic. The portable docking unit is preferably configured to removably mate to the telephone. The portable main unit is preferably configured to removably dock to the docking unit. When the main unit is docked to the docking unit and the docking unit is mated to the telephone, the main unit is coupled to the telephone. The main unit includes a memory configured to store user data and a processor coupled to the memory. The logic is configured for the electronic organizer to initiate a voice telephone call over the telephone in response to user input related to the user data.
In an embodiment, the present invention includes a portable electronic organizer for independent operation and for operation with a portable telephone. The organizer includes a memory for storing user data, a display coupled to the memory, a communication coupler configured to interface with the portable telephone, and a processor, coupled to the memory and the display, configured to control, in response to user input, selective conveying of the user data to the user and instructing of the telephone via the communication coupler to initiate a phone call. The electronic organizer is capable of handheld use by a user for selectively accessing the user data while physically separate from the telephone, even during the phone call initiated by the telephone in response to the instructing by the processor.
An exemplary method for cooperatively using a portable phone and a portable electronic organizer that has a display includes the steps of: electively placing the portable electronic organizer into proximity with the portable phone to enable communication; displaying at the display first information comprising entries having corresponding phone number information; receiving first input that indicates a user request to dial a phone number associated with a particular entry of the displayed entries; and transmitting a first command from the electronic organizer to the phone for attempting to establish communication between the electronic organizer and the phone. The method further includes the steps of: if a communication can be established between the electronic organizer and the phone, transmitting in response to the user request a second command, from the electronic organizer to the phone, that instructs the phone to dial the phone number to thereby establish a phone call; during the established phone call, receiving second input indicating a user request to use the electronic organizer to view second information; and, in response to the second input, while at least a portion of the electronic organizer that includes the display is physically uncoupled from the phone, displaying at the electronic organizer the second information for viewing by the user while the user is actively engaged in the established phone call.